How to be More Confident – Develop Inverse Paranoia

Learning how to be more confident is the key that opens up a whole world of opportunities, but how do you do it? This post is the first in a series that will show you how. I’m starting with mindset because I believe it is one of the fundamental building blocks for confidence and self-esteem. As Mr Tweedy, the hapless farmer from the film chicken run says, “It’s all in your head”. Confident people “suffer” from a wonderful condition called inverse paranoia.

Everyone knows what paranoia is right? “Paranoia is an irrational fear that the world is inherently dangerous and that everything and everyone are out to get you.”

Have you ever stopped to notice that confident people rarely suffer from this debilitating condition. Instead, they seem to suffer from a much more positive condition that some people call Inverse Paranoia.

“Inverse paranoids believe that that the word is essentially a positive place and that everyone and everything is conspiring to help and support them.”

STOP – Take a moment and imagine how trying on such a different belief might change the way you think and act.

Your Assignment

If you are serious about learning how to be more confident, then I need you to spend the next ten days doing one simple thing.

I need you to imagine that you have developed a serious case of inverse paranoia and to act as if this was true. I want to…

Look out for all the amazing ways in which things have gone right for you

Notice the wealth of help you get from other people when you ask for it

Look for the silver lining in every cloud that may come your way (and keep looking until you find it!)

Let me know how you get on or if you have any questions, using the comments box below.

Finally, if you found this tip helpful, I would encourage you to share it with colleagues, family and friends using the social sharing buttons below.

(P.S. Thanks to my good friend and fellow Toastmaster Tim Rampton who introduced me to the concept of Inverse Paranoia)